"You
have to get into a mindset that this is the greatest
“fill-in-the-blank”-type of movie ever made, and treat it that way.
Otherwise you're just going to blow it, and there can't be any
phone-ins because your name is on it forever. "

Brian Tyler

Coming off one of the busiest seasons
of his career, composer Brian Tyler shares about his two latest
projects: DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, FAST AND FURIOUS and THE
LAZARUS PROJECT. He
also answers fan submitted questions touching on where his love of
vests came from, how he chooses the music for the original
soundtrack releases, how he handles rejection and industry-walls.
He also discusses some of his upcoming, 2009 projects!

6 Tracks from Dragonball Evolution and Fast and Furious

All Music Used by Permission

Dragonball Evolution released on April 10,
2009

Fast and
Furious released on April 3, 2009

CC: Well, let me jump
right in. I've been
curious; with this
last 12 months, it
seems like this has
been one of the
busiest 12 months
you've had in a while,
maybe since 2003. Is
that accurate?

Brian Tyler: Yeah,
definitely. It's been
pretty non-stop
[laughs], and a lot of
different kinds of
projects, which has
been really cool. It
was kind of
“one-got-into-another.”
The
“no-break-between-things”
really started as far
back as Alien vs.
Predator: Requiem,
going into Rambo,
which crossed-over
with Bangkok
Dangerous, then Eagle
Eye, Lazarus Project,
The Killing Room, then
into Dragonball
Evolution, and finally
Fast and Furious.

CC: And what about the
Lazarus Project? I
haven't heard a lot
about that, nor have I
heard that particular
piece, so I'm a bit
curious.

Brian Tyler: It stands
out as something
completely different
than the others. It's
a really
introspective,
melancholy score,
completely sonically
different. It's got a
lot of bells, Baroque
strings, and piano,
but all done in a kind
of strange, haunting,
ethereal way. It was
great, and really a
change from other
music.

CC: That was going to
be my question;
given that your recent
projects have been
more action oriented,
I was going to ask if
you were looking for
something a little bit
different, just to
exercise some of the
other muscles that you
have, and are very
talented in. So this
Lazarus Project was
something like that,
right?

Brian Tyler: Yeah,
exactly. It was just
really haunting. Sometimes I've
gone and done scores
that were completely
different. I
haven't done anything
like this score, let's
put it that way. I was
trying to write for
glockenspiel and
vibraphones. I was
writing for
vibraphones for the
first time. There were also haunting
guitars, solo violin,
and solo cello, which
I played. It was just
a much more
introspective score
than the rest of them,
and I hope people get
a chance to hear it.

CC: Beautiful.
I'm intrigued right
now just by your
verbal description.
Well, let me bring it
back to the other
scores that you've
worked on, and you've
talked about how one
score led into the
other. How do you keep
it fresh from one
project to the next?
What kind of exercise
do you do in your
brain to tell
yourself, for example,
“Ok, I'm not on
'Rambo' anymore, I'm
on 'Bangkok
Dangerous'”?

Brian Tyler: [laughs]
Honestly, you just
nailed it. The fact
that I'm on a
different movie with a
different set of
visuals, storyline,
actors, and things
like that; that
automatically changes
it up for me, enough
that it's going to
evoke something
completely different.
I've gotten into the
habit of writing music
for imagery. Of
course, at first when
I started to write
music it wasn't like
this. It was more
along the lines of
“think-up whatever and
go for it”, and you
can compose in a
vacuum.

CC: Right.

Brian Tyler: But since
I've been composing
for films for quite
some time, now I have
this “reflective”
thing that goes on
when I sit down to
compose themes, and it
definitely comes from
looking at the imagery
and feeling what goes
on in the film. And no
matter what kind of
film it is, I still go
through that process.
There's not going to
be any connection
between a score like
Fast and Furious and
Lazarus Project, or
Partition, whereas
Eagle Eye may have a
few things in common
with Rambo or some
other kind of action
film. So, there are these
different styles of
music, even within the
action genre. Lately,
the films have
actually been very
different, even though
they're all labeled
under “Action”. Even
Aliens vs. Predator:
Requiem vs. Rambo,
which were right next
to each other: One is
soulful and longing;
Rambo is lost amongst
the action, and it
takes place in Asia;
whereas a
science-fiction score
is just totally
different. I ran into
that also with Dragonball Evolution
and Fast and Furious,
being so close
together. Dragonball
Evolution has this
“fantastical”
feeling...if that's a
word...it's not but
I'll use it. It
was “fantastic-ish”.
It kind of feels
closer to Lord of the
Rings, Harry Potter,
and movies like that,
but Fast and Furious
was totally different.
I'd say the most
similar would
be...Fast and Furious
and Fast and Furious:
Tokyo Drift.

CC: I guess there
would be a little
similarity there.
[laughs] So when we're
talking about those
projects, and even
these two most recent
ones: Dragonball
Evolution and Fast and
Furious, did you
work on these
simultaneously?

Brian Tyler: Well for
the latest two, the
schedules were a
little compacted. Fast and
Furious was originally
going to be a summer
movie. Right
around New Year's, we
found out that it
would be much, much
earlier, April 3rd.
And that's when I was
finishing up Dragonball Evolution,
which was fine because
I had been working
with Justin Lin, the
director, for quite
some time, even before
they shot the film. So
I was starting to get
head-starts. Rambo and
Aliens was the same
thing. I started
before they shot it,
so I could get in
the groove of at least
getting my bearings.
Nothing specific can
happen until I get the
imagery, like I was
saying before, until I
get the film itself.
But in essence, I can
start to see what the
themes may be leaning
towards.
And, I needed that
breathing room; I
needed -every bit- of
breathing room on Fast
and Furious because it
was such a short
schedule. But I'm used to
that. I'm used to the
schedules changing
dramatically. If I have
my druthers, I
wouldn't be having two
things at once, not
because it affects me
in a creative way,
because that, I feel,
never really hinders
it. Unless it was
“Here, do a score in 4
days.” Then I would
have problems. But, I
can push it to doing
20-hour days for about
3-4 weeks, and you
have to do that on
some projects. That
was certainly the case
with Dragonball
Evolution and Fast and
Furious.

CC: Ok. You've said
something now that's
peaked my interest,
regarding you signing
onto these films
before they've even
shot them. Is this a
common practice?

Brian Tyler: No.
[laughs] I don't think
it is. I think it only
is if you've worked
with the director
before.

CC: So you're signing
as an investment on
whoever is directing
and producing the
film.

Brian Tyler: Yes.
There are different
reasons for me to have
signed on before
they've shot the
film. Sometimes it's
the source material. Sometimes it's the
director and the
relationship I have
with him. For
instance, there are
times where I was just
a huge fan of the
series, like how I
grew up reading
Children of Dune. I
was a big Dune fan, so
I signed on before
they shot that. Also
with Aliens vs.
Predator, you take
your pick. I'm a huge
fan of both series.
I grew up watching
Rambo and loved it.
Same thing for Dragonball. I read all
the manga, and was
into Dragon Ball Z and
Dragon Ball GT. It
just keeps going; Fast
and Furious is another
one. I'm really into
cars, love racing, and
even get onto the
track myself. So for
certain things, if it
crosses over with what
my interests are in
life, that can make it
a little sweeter.
Especially if a
film series is coming
out and there's
something where I'm
curious what it's
going to be like. I just want to be the
first guy to actually
see footage from the
film. It can really be
as simple as that. I'm
just really stoked on
getting in there and
checking out what it
would be like. I
wanted to see the
return of Rambo before
anyone, you know?

CC: Ok. Now I don't
think that you've had
to deal with this in
any of the films
you've done that
process with, but what
if, for example, you
see the film, and you
find yourself saying
“This is a
disaster...and I don't
want to score it. I
don't want my name
attached to it”?

Brian Tyler: Oh,
right. [laughs] Then
you're kind of
screwed. There are
times when I've only
seen portions of the
film and there's
nothing you can do
about that. You just
have to go with your
best guess. Sometimes
it works and sometimes
it doesn't, and
there's all sorts of
grey areas in between. But
no matter what, the
thing I will always
try to do is to treat the film
like it's Citizen Kane
while I'm scoring it.
You have to get into a
mindset that this is
the greatest
“fill-in-the-blank”-type
of movie ever made,
and treat it that way.
Otherwise you're just
going to blow it, and
there can't be any
phone-ins because your
name is on it forever.
Also it's just that
the scores live on in
themselves, and they
have their own life.
It's the one thing in
movies -maybe besides
action figures
[laughs]- that's
purchased on its own
forever, and it has
its own life apart
from the movie and
inside the movie. They
don't sell, for
example, the lighting.
Maybe for some movies
like Star Wars you can
get a costume for
Halloween. But
basically, because of
this long-term factor,
I always really try to
leave it all on the
floor and let it rip,
and I don't worry
about things like “Oh, geez, am I using up my
greatest
science-fiction theme
I've every written or
will write on this
little movie.”

CC: Right.

Brian Tyler: And
sometimes you never
know how people are
going to react to a
movie. It's really
hard to tell. I loved
Bubba Ho-tep when I
signed on for it ages
ago. It was so
weird and strange.
Honestly, when I was
doing it, I really
thought that I was the
only one that would
like it. I thought
that people would hate
it. But since I loved
it, and Don, the
director was
enthusiastic about it,
and Bruce Campbell as
well, we just said
“We'll just make this
for ourselves, and if
people take it,
great!”. So I wrote
something that was
really heart-felt to
me. And
sure enough, people
loved it. So it's just
one of those things
where you have to do
your best, give your
all, and you never
know when something is
going to connect with
the audience. I've
also been shocked, at other times,
where I scored
something that I
thought was going to
be fantastic in terms
of the film itself,
and yet it got
absolutely killed.

CC: And that's
probably why you stay
so busy, because
you're giving it your
all, regardless.

Brian Tyler: It's
possible. I think
people that work in
the business know that
about me. I
think that they hear
my music for
for the lesser-known
movies or the ones
that maybe didn't do
well, and end up temping it
into their big movie.
Then they might say
“Wow, he did this for
this movie, maybe he
could do something for
us.” That may have
something to do with
it, I don't know.
[laughs]

CC: I bet it does. Let
me move onto the
submitted questions
here before we run out
of time. I'm going to
start with one that's
actually being asked
anonymously. They were
actually kidding but
once I read it I said
“You know, that's a
good question, I'll
just ask it and see
how he responds,”
because it's not
directly
music-related. The
question is: “What's
up with the vests?”

Brian Tyler: [laughs]
Oh, my fascination
with vests. Yes. As a
kid, I actually liked
vests because I always
mistakenly thought
that they were
“super-hero-y” or
something. When I was
a kid, I always tried
to dress up as
superheroes. Or Darth
Vader, you take your
pick. And then,
somehow vests came
into the picture. But
now in my adult life,
they have absolutely
nothing to do with
that, except that I
have a couple of vests
I like now. I think
they might be
referring to one or
two vests that I've
worn in scoring
sessions. It's funny,
in those videos, which
go up on YouTube and
get all around, I
might do one day of
scoring sessions, and
I think people might
think that that's what
I wear everyday.
[laughs] But in
reality, I pretty much
wear a T-shirt.

CC: [laughs] Ok. Yeah,
I like to wear vests
myself, and I was
hoping that your
answer was going to be
like mine, which,
-don't tell anyone,
but- is so that I
don't have to iron my
shirt perfectly.
[laughs]

Brian Tyler: Yeah,
that definitely helps.
When I'm
conducting, wearing a
vest is pretty easy.
But if I wanted a
different look and
wear a tie as well,
the thing is, you
probably have to wear
a jacket with it, to
complete the vibe, but
sometimes that can get
a little constraining,
depending on the day,
and it can also get
hot, especially if
you're conducting. The
other thing, I've
found, is that the tie
flies around a bit.

CC: You get really
into it.

Brian Tyler: Yeah, I
throw my arms around a
lot and so the tie
tends to fly up in my
face.

CC: This next one
comes from a gentleman
in Spain. His
name is Ator. He
asks: “Do you think
about the audience'
reaction when they're
listening to your
soundtrack?” And
that's his words
exactly.

Brian Tyler: That's a
good question.
Sometimes it does come
into play when I'm
doing versions of
pieces that are
specifically for the
soundtrack album. For
example, sometimes
there's a theme that I
write for a scene; I
write it one way and
the scene is 3 minutes
long, but then in the
movie it ends up being
12 seconds long. So in
that case, I think
“You know what? I
wrote this piece for
the movie and I think
people would enjoy it.
I'm going to put it in
because I think people
who enjoy soundtracks
will like it.” And so
in that way, I'm
directly thinking of a
film-score audience.
But invariably,
there's all sorts of
factors that go into
the writing. 100% of
what I write has to
serve the film first. It has to
serve the film,
enhance it, and make
it work right. But,
that being said,
there's all sorts of
things involved. When
I'm writing for an
orchestra, and I know
what players are going
to be there, sometimes
I want to throw
something in the score
that's going to give
them a hard time.
[laughs]
It's just more of a
personal thing; we
just love giving each
other a hard time. I'm
usually very good
friends with the
members of the
orchestra I usually
use, the Hollywood
Studio Symphony, we've
been doing so many
films. So I'll usually
throw something in
there that'll make
them sweat. It happens
to the percussion
section in almost
every movie just
because all of them
happen to play
percussion and it's
kind of a fun thing to
do. Or sometimes the
cello lines or solo
violin lines are
really wild, so
sometimes that's it.
And sometimes, I just
think, “Wow, this
suite here could maybe
be really enjoyable
for fans of film music
like 'Star Wars' or
“North By Northwest.”
and I slip into that
mode sometimes. So,
I'm thinking of all
these things, but the
top of the pecking
order has to be the
film itself.

CC: Ok, I
have another question
that's tied into that.
It's from Kevin C. in
New York: “You seem to
put a lot of care and
effort into the
presentation of your
soundtrack albums. Do
you find it a
challenge to decide
what to include on the
and what to omit? Are
there any soundtrack
albums you wish you
could revisit, and
make changes to, that
you didn't think of
when you cut them
together initially?”

Brian Tyler: Oh,
absolutely. First of
all, I agonize over
-every- second of the
soundtrack. The reason
I do is because almost
always, I'm writing
scores that are longer
in length than a CD
can hold. Somehow I
find myself doing
movies that are just
longer than 78 minutes
of score, which is
kind of unusual. Most
movies have much less
than 78 minutes of
score, but virtually
100% of the scores
that I've done are
longer than that, but
I don't know why. It
just happens to be
that way. Maybe it's a
stylistic thing, but
who knows? It just
kills me to leave
things off [the
album], because I am a
bit of a completist.
Some people take the
approach of “I'm just
going to make this a
smooth album
listening.”Occasionally
I'll read a review of
an album of mine and
someone will say, “You
know, this thing was
77 minutes, and it
really only needed to
be 52.” I don't know
where they come up
with 52, or 52 minutes
and 41 seconds. But as a
film-score fan growing
up, my favorite cues
would always be the
obscure, weird cues
playing in the hallway
or background, that
one one hardly
notices. It wouldn't
be super-cool but if
it wasn't on the
soundtrack album it
just drove me crazy.
So I would try to
second-guess those
things. Eagle Eye was
one of those things
where the soundtrack
was -way- shorter than
the actual score. Even
at 78 minutes, I
recorded a lot more
and that was really
agonizing. Children of
Dune was another
example, where there
was 3 hours worth of
music and I could only
do one disc.
Invariably, I do look
back and sometimes I
try to put a suite
upfront, and I also
have to work with the
record label and
decide what should go
where. I can get a bit
indecisive about that.
Assuredly, years later
I'll often look back
at a soundtrack and
think, “Wow...what?!
Why did I do it like
that?! Why did I leave
that track off and
include this one?!”
But I think overall,
I've been really happy
with it. There's only
been maybe 2 times
where an over-zealous
director or studio
executive, or
over-zealous producer
would intervene and
completely change the
order of my soundtrack
and overrule me for
whatever reason. In
those cases, to this
day, I've been unhappy
with the way they were
done. I'm not going to
say which ones they
were. [laughs]

CC: Ok, that's fine.
[laughs]

Brian Tyler: But it's
kind of just not cool.
So that's what I try
to do. And another
thing is that I'm
really hoping to get
my past soundtracks
out there for whoever
wants them. There are some scores that I get
asked about all the
time, like Panic,
which has never been
released. So I'm
venturing to do that
this year and get them
all out, kind of as a
respectful gesture.

CC: This next one is
from Thomas of
Anchorage, Alaska. He
asks: “What changes
did you have to make
to your writing style
with the months taken
away from 'Fast and
Furious'? I heard they
moved the release up a
month. How does a
major change like that
affect your writing?”

Brian Tyler: It's
interesting, before
that change happened
though, I had written
the main theme for
Fast and Furious,
because Justin was
showing me footage all
along, and the main
theme, which is Letty's Theme
permeates throughout
the score, and the
“Fate Theme” also has
a big part in it. I
had gotten a head
start, and I'm glad I did. It was a
bear to write all that
action music, and this
was probably the most
difficult thing to do
because it's a
complete orchestral
score, during the
action moments. Let's
say it's a big chase
scene. If you just sat
in the room with the
orchestra, those
tracks could pretty
much play as a
completely traditional
orchestral score. So,
it's almost like
writing two scores
because you have that
element and you also
have all the drums,
programming, guitars,
basses, and all the
little trinky-dinky
stuff that I get all
obsessed with, and
also play all those
instruments myself. So
I'm playing around
with them and trying
to write for a
90-piece orchestra. It
was just crazy. It was
like writing two
scores that were both
85 minutes long.
The strange thing is,
if I had 9 months to
do the entire score, I
think it sound
exactly the same. It's
just one of those
things where you go
with first instinct
and when you work with
a director that you've
worked with before,
you get on the same
page, you have your
back-and-forth
collaboration, and you
do your thing. Inevitably I could've
changed things, but it
would've been changing
them to be different,
not necessarily be
better. The only thing
that I missed during
that time that I wish
I could've had was
just some sleep. It's
just not good for you;
I definitely put some
wear-and-tear on my
body during that time,
and maybe shaved off a
year of my life. It
was rough, but I'm
happy with the way it
came out.

CC: This one is from
Michael in Kentucky.
He asks: “Hello Brian,
my question concerns
your use of percussion
in your film scores.
I've noticed that you
use much more organic
drums rather than
synth, which seems to
envelope scores these
days. What kind of
unique drums do you
sometimes choose and
why? Example: John
Powell chose to use
the Bougarabou for the
'Bourne” series
because he liked the
specific sound they
had.”

Brian Tyler: Yes. There's a lot of
different percussion (I'm just walking into
my room of percussion
instruments right now).
I don't even know the
names of some of them.
I've just picked up so
many from around the
world, but definitely Darbuka, Djembe,
Bodhrán, everything
from Moroccan drums to
Malaysian bells,
gongs, shakers, and
little metal
things...I don't know
what they're called
but they're
cool-looking. I also
have Kalimbas and it's
there's just so many
metal, wood, and
different tuned
instruments. The first
instruments I ever
played with were
drums. The percussion
always sounds better
if it's recorded with
a microphone. Samples
are fun, and I'm not
going to bag on other
composers on the way
they do things. That's
their sound and there
are a group of
composers who will
generally never use
live percussion, and
won't even record live
percussion when
they're recording with
live orchestras, which
is fine because
they've found a way to
do it with samples.
But to me, it's
different. I actually
write with
percussion sometimes.
Some of my action
music is derived from
things I can do with
my hands on different
drums, and the cello
and bass-lines maybe
come from that. So
there's all these
things like whole
human element, getting
away from the
computer, sound waves
traveling through the
air and hitting the
microphone; the
messiness of it all.
That's another thing I
love about it, all the
percussion from around
the world; when you
play it, there's so
many different rough
edges to it. You can
hit the side of the
drum, the center, and
all these different
parts of it. I think
that if you use
synthesizers or
samples for it you
polish off the rough
edges; you polish off
all the mistakes, the
little human errors
that make it human,
and that's what's
soulful percussion can
be. There's a
difference between a
really laid-back, cool
Steve Gadd groove on
the drums versus the
coldness of Kraftwerk.
I love both, but they
serve different
purposes, and for film
music, if I can play
all of these things
myself, it takes
longer to do, but I
think you get more of
a sound that resonates
as “human.”

CC: Let me come
back to Kevin C of New
York, He
askes: “After Jerry
Goldsmith passed away,
did his death change
or shape your
perspective as a film
composer as well as
your feelings towards
your replacement score
for 'Timeline'?”

Brian Tyler: Yes. It
did. Jerry was
obviously one of the
all-time greats, and
someone that I looked
up to, and that's the
understatement of the
century. There's been
this interesting
connection that we've
had since Timeline. He
obviously scored
Aliens, and Rambo,
or Star Trek. But
it is something that
affected me greatly. I
knew that he wasn't
doing very well, and I
was really concerned
about that. I
remembered when he
passed away, we
were kind of expecting
it, but it was still a
shock. I almost didn't
believe it. I was at
the funeral, the
memorial service, and
I kind of didn't “get
it.”, It just seemed
unreal to me like “How
in the world? It's
Jerry, he's always
around, he's going to do
another 17 films next
year.” He just always
kept busy. The thing
that was so strange
with Timeline was that
I was really looking
forward to him scoring
Timeline before I had
any association with
it. I was even one of
the guys that signed a
petition online to
bring Jerry back once
he was dropped from
doing the score for
Timeline. So it was
not without irony that
I actually ended up
being the guy that was
chosen to replace him.
And that was daunting,
to say the least. It
was almost like a
no-win situation, in
which here I am,
replacing my idol, and
people are going to
hate me for it. And I
just tried to do my
best to make it a
tribute score to Jerry
more than anything
else. Some people got
that and some people
didn't, but I did my
best, and I'm not
Jerry. [laughs] But
I'm trying really hard
to keep that tradition
going, and a lot of
what I've fashioned
myself as a composer
after was Jerry; his
use of percussion,
traditional orchestra
in different ways, and
the way of trying to
keep the human element
alive in music, which
was such a passion of
his. It's something
that I really believe
in. but certainly it's
a huge loss that he's
gone. I'm glad that we
still have his music
and I listen to it all
the time.

CC: I know that in my
review of your music
for Rambo, one of the
things that stood out
to me was that it
obviously honored his
original theme, which
I'll love until the
day I die. It honored
the spirit of
Goldsmith without just
being Goldsmith
regurgitated on us, so
I really appreciated
that.

Brian Tyler: Oh, good!

CC: And I know that
couldn't have been an
easy thing, to bring
in who -you- are, yet
keep it connected to
Jerry Goldsmith. That
just can't be an easy
thing.

Brian Tyler: Oh, it is
something that's
really tough.
Especially since I
just -loved- those
scores, they're great.

CC: This one's
from Thomas in
Anchorage, AK. He asks
“I was curious how or
what Brian does when
he hits a wall or
rejection, like when
he wants to score a
film and doesn't get
the job, or runs into
a problem with the
director or studio
approving a piece of
music?”

Brian Tyler: There's all sorts of
reasons that things
get rejected.
Actually, being as
objective as I can,
very often it's
stupidity to the
-core-. [laughs] And
it's not just because
it's me. I hear about
things from other
composers too, and
they're just
absolutely asinine.
Twilight. I hadn't
heard that, but you
know, stories like
that are abound.

I've had
things where I was
scoring films at a
fairly young age, and
I would have a 64-year
old executive tell a
25-year old composer,
“That's not what the
kids like, let's make
this for the young
audience.” Here he is
talking to the -exact-
demographic that's
going to go see the
movie, and it's just
insane. And sometimes
you get “Don't use
this note” or “I don't
ever want to hear
violins or oboe.” It's
a little tough because
it's like “Dude, I've
been writing music
since before I can
remember,” and you
hone your craft even
before most people
know what job they're
going to be doing.
Even a doctor won't
start studying that
until college, but
we've been composers
and musicians since we
started it at 5. And
so by the time you
hear someone that has
a very cursory
knowledge of what
music even is, chiming
in and saying things
that are ridiculous.
One of the things that
I've heard was, being
familiar with rhythms,
“There should be 12th
notes instead of 16th
notes,” and stuff like
that, things that
don't exist in the
musical language. And
for those things you
just have to grin and
bear at them, but I'll
stick up for my music.

CC: So how do you
respond or "stick up
for your music?"

Brian Tyler: If someone says that
they don't like
something, I won't say
“Hmm, you know, you're
right,” do the
soft-self, “Oh, it's
just not there yet,
ok, i'll do that.” I
don't do that because
of the very fact that
if I'm presenting it
to them, it's already
gone through the most
intense, rigorous
self-hating
analyzation by the
worst critic I could
ever have, which is
-me-. I throw out
-tons- of things
before I'd ever dare
play it for a director
or producer, and I
only present things
that I feel confident
about. If I'm not
confident about it I
just won't play that
theme. I'll skip it
until the next time.
So, I will give the
reason why I think it
works, and in the end
it is opinion, and I
can deal with that.
It's something you
have to have a really
thick skin about, and
you put it away for a
rainy day and say “Ok,
I'll just move on and
do it again” if it
comes down to locking
horns and not being
able to get past it.
But I think that's
part of the reason why
you try to develop a
collaborative
relationship with the
people you work with,
and I've been real
lucky in that 95% of
the time that's what
it is. I've only had a
handful of times where
an executive will come
from there office
where they've been
doing accounting and
figuring out the
fiscal structures of
release patterns to
chiming in about how
the oboe harmonizes
with the viola. It
does happen, but it's
pretty rare. And most
of the time, it's
going to be matters of
opinion between you
and the director, and
hopefully that's how
it should be. It's
their film, and that's
why the studio hired
them to do the film,
direct it and bring
their vision. So I
always say
“director-first”, and
I'll bring what I
bring to the table. I
find it interesting
though, that despite
all the intrusions
from studio executives
throughout the years,
trying to put their
stamp on it and push
composers around,
that pretty much no
matter the film
you're listening to you can
still identify who is
who. The fact is that
the influence of
studio executives, no
matter how many notes
they give you, you're
still going to sound
like you, because
you're you and all
their talk really
boils down to equaling
zero in the end. We
can always recognize
John Williams, and
when you hear Thomas
Newman score you know
it's him, and James
Horner, you name it.
So the composer brings
what he's going to
bring, and you have to
know as a composer,
“Look, they hired me
for me. That's cool,
and it's still going
to be me in the end.
Regardless of how much
they tinker with it,
it's still going to be
me.” And their power
to alter things is
-so- minuscule in the
end, that you as a
composer can't just
find yourself
composing from a
position or
perspective of fear,
which I think has
happened to some
people, unfortunately.
I find that I would
rather go all-out on a
limb and do something
one a scene that's
immediately
recognizable, or
something that you'd
really notice,
something that changes
your feelings about a
scene, than kind of
hide in the background
and do music that
doesn't really say
anything, just because
it's hard to criticize
music that's not doing
anything. I think that
ends up being almost
like a drug addiction. If you
don't do anything,
it'll be hard to
criticize and you can
move on, but then you
lose the reason why
music is there in the
first place.

CC: I've got one last
question and it's from
me. Now, my favorite
score of yours has
become Partition.
That's just my
favorite. I love that
score, so, I'm always
waiting for the next
Partition to come
along.

Brian Tyler: [laughs]
Strangely enough,
that's Lazarus
Project. About once or
twice a year, there
are a few films
that I try to take,
which are bigger risks.
They don't even have
distribution. They're
independent films or
the like,
that can really do
something off the
beaten path, and do
something that has an
original voice, where
I can experiment.
Partition is one of
those. Certainly
Lazarus Project, this
year is one as well.
Even The Killing
Room, which is a
completely different
take on scores for me,
was kind of set
as a complete
classical work. It's
just strings and a
choir, but it's done
in a way that's very
cold. It's much more
like modern,
contemporary classical
music set in a series
of movements, and
that'll be later this
year. Now, another one
that's going to be
completely different
from the action vibe
is this movie, Middle
Men, which I'm scoring
right now. That's with
Giovanni Ribisi, James
Caan, Luke Wilson,
Robert Forster and
Kevin Pollak. It's
like an ensemble
piece, like a Scorsese
film. It's set against
a true story of the
guy that invented
private billing for
credit cards online,
but it turned into the
most insane journey,
almost like a Pablo
Escobar kind of thing,
but it's about a
normal guy who got
sucked into this
underworld of crime
and mobs, and all
sorts of things. It's
really quite moving.
It's alternately
funny, horrifying,
violent and epic. So,
that's going to be
very different in
terms of the vibe of
what I've been doing
in the last few
movies, and that's
more of a movie with
stars and things like
that, but it's not an
action film.

CC: Well, I
look forward to and
will be reviewing Fast
and Furious and Dragonball Evolution
in the very near
future, and I'm
enjoying what I hear
there already, but I
look forward to
hearing what you have
coming up in the rest
of the year as well.
Hopefully you'll get a
break in there
somewhere.

Brian Tyler: Yeah, I'd
love that. [laughs]

CC: Well Brian, thanks
again so much for your
time. It's been great
talking to you
tonight.

*Special thanks to
Caitlin Owens of ID
Public Relations.
Interview transcribed
by Vince Chang and
edited by Christopher
Coleman